Will you be a drummer boy
When you’re big and handsome,
Will you play the fife and drum
As you march along?

Will you wear a soldier’s coat
When you’re big and handsome,
Scarlet jacket, buttons gold,
As you march along?

Will you whistle soldiers’ songs
When you’re big and handsome,
Will you fashion manhood’s dreams
As you march along?

May you tread the ways of peace
When you’re big and handsome,
Nothing harm and no one wrong
As you march along.

Far from you the threat of war
When you’re big and handsome,
A drummer boy and nothing more
As you march along.

June 1980